Category Archives: Budget ballyhoo

Perry asks for federal education funds

Posted on September 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

About time. Gov. Rick Perry on Friday submitted the state’s application for the money, which is intended to help school districts save teacher jobs now. But Texas faced a bigger hurdle than other states because of an amendment authored by … Continue reading →

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Federal education funds still in limbo

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

All talk, no action. A high-level meeting of state and federal officials aimed at finding a way for Texas to access $830 million in emergency education aid failed to produce a clear path forward, according to the Texas Education Agency. … Continue reading →

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Them that has, gets

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This is how it works in this state. Some of Texas’ most vulnerable residents – the very poor, the mentally ill, those suffering from birth defects, and children from troubled families – would lose state support and services under several … Continue reading →

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Bye-bye, IBM

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Better luck next time. The Department of Information Resources appears to be giving up on IBM — once and for all. The agency isn’t formally terminating its contract with the information technology and business consulting giant, which was supposed to … Continue reading →

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From the “You get what you pay for” department

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Cut the budget enough at your flagship state university, and the quality of that university may suffer. Who knew? The president of the University of Texas at Austin warned Thursday that expected state budget cuts would put the school further … Continue reading →

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Sales tax revenues inch up

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s better than the alternative, but still nothing to write home about. Sales tax receipts in July were up 2.2 percent compared to the same time the previous year, [Comptroller Susan] Combs said. Revenue increased $1.69 billion from July 2009, … Continue reading →

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The State of Texas versus IBM: IBM responds

Posted on August 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In July, the state gave IBM thirty days to respond to various charges relating to its ability to fulfill outsourcing contract obligations. IBM has now given its response. In a letter released [last] Friday, IBM executive Cynthia McLean defended the … Continue reading →

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It’s easier than you think to behave responsibly

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

With all the clutching of pearls and threatening of lawsuits surrounding those federal funds that Congress intends to be used for education and not general fund budget balancing tricks, we should all take a deep breath and keep in mind … Continue reading →

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More preschool, please

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Want to improve how high-risk children will do in school and later in life? Get them into preschool. [P]reschool seemed to improve performance on a variety of “non-cognitive” abilities, such as self-control, persistence and grit. While society has long obsessed … Continue reading →

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Congress wants education money spent on education

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It sounds simple, but around here these things never are. State leaders on Thursday threatened to sue the federal government over a restriction Congress is placing on $830 million in education funding for Texas. Texas educators and Democratic congressional allies, … Continue reading →

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That sound you hear is another school finance lawsuit coming

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It may be sooner rather than later, but one way or another it’s coming. Despite numerous challenges and Band-Aids to Texas’ school funding system over the past three decades, school leaders say another school finance lawsuit is imminent. If it … Continue reading →

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Still steroid-free

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No juicing here. The University Interscholastic League on Thursday released results of [steroids tests of high school athletes] for the spring semester of the 2009-2010 school year. Of the 3,308 boys and girls tested last semester, all of the student … Continue reading →

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Dewhurst the deficit peacock

Posted on July 31, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst wants you to believe that he cares about deficit spending. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst warned Wednesday that new federal health care legislation will bust Texas’ budget, saddling state taxpayers with $27 billion in extra costs over … Continue reading →

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How much do kids count?

Posted on July 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In Texas, the answer is not much at all. Between 2000 and 2008, the number of Texas kids living in poverty grew by 240,000, accounting for 23 percent of the total child population. The national child poverty rate is 18 … Continue reading →

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You think there might be a connection there?

Posted on July 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In the middle of this Trib story about the Driver Responsibility Program and the Lege’s efforts to reform it comes a reminder about the relationship between federal and state legislation. Denise Rose, senior director of government relations at the Texas … Continue reading →

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The State of Texas versus IBM: Down dooby doo down down…

Posted on July 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It just keeps getting worse, doesn’t it? All the finger-pointing and fault-finding over the state’s troubled data center contract has technology analyst Tom Starnes wondering if Texas and IBM Corp. want this marriage to work. “It’s like they don’t want … Continue reading →

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The State of Texas and IBM: Not getting any better

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No group hugs are expected any time soon. Agencies that help Texans renew their automobile registrations, draw unemployment benefits and apply for food stamps and Medicaid face crushing demands – and IBM, the technology contractor for those agencies, isn’t even … Continue reading →

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The State of Texas versus IBM

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s never a pretty sight when an outsourcing relationship goes bad. IBM Corp.’s $863 million data center consolidation contract with Texas is teetering on collapse. Seven months of negotiations aimed at righting the troubled project and salvaging the partnership fell … Continue reading →

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Family planning saves money

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It does a lot more than that, of course, but in these times we may as well highlight the financial aspect of it. A state and federal program that provides free family planning and related health screenings to low-income women … Continue reading →

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Gambling and the deficit

Posted on July 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve said before that regardless of what you hear from gambling proponents about the potential for expanded gambling to help with the current budget deficit, you should not expect anything this biennium. I’m glad to see that I’m not the … Continue reading →

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Will the racetracks and the casinos work together?

Posted on July 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

At the very end of this Trib story about more legislative hearings on gambling expansion comes this tidbit: The Win for Texas group — which includes current racetrack owners who’d like to add slot machines and other games to their … Continue reading →

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Texas 20/20 on the budget

Posted on July 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Via First Reading, a group called Texas 20/20 has taken a look at what other states have done to deal with their budget shortfalls, and how that may apply to Texas in next year’s legislative session. The author is former … Continue reading →

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LSG hearing on expanded gambling

Posted on July 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Legislative Study Group held a hearing on Wednesday to start the discussion about the various proposals for expanded gambling in Texas that will be brought to the Lege next year. Racetrack and casino interests that want to expand Texas … Continue reading →

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The community college crunch

Posted on July 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Increasing enrollment and decreasing funding is a bad combination. Community colleges, like most other state agencies and institutions of higher education, faced a 5 percent cut in state funding for 2010 and 2011. That was about $3.2 million each year … Continue reading →

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How to really put the unemployed to work

Posted on July 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Workforce Commissioner Tom Pauken has the germ of a good idea here. Unfortunately, he’s incapable of seeing what it is, and so goes off a cliff with it. “Even in good economic times, there were people in Texas who … Continue reading →

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Sometimes, government really is run like a business

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

And that’s not such a good thing, as former deputy state comptroller Billy Hamilton pointed out in testimony before the House Select Committee on Government Efficiency and Accountability. Don’t expect savings anytime soon. Check out other states that tried the … Continue reading →

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Feds fine Texas for food stamp failures

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Our longstanding food stamp problems continue to cost the state of Texas millions of dollars. Federal officials have fined Texas $3.96 million for errors in issuing food stamp benefits, according to a letter sent to House Speaker Joe Straus. The … Continue reading →

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Poll says people prefer slots to taxes

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t think that’s a great revelation – I’d think many people would claim to prefer a bout of the flu to having their taxes raised – but for obvious reasons, this is a noteworthy finding. A new poll conducted … Continue reading →

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Some good job news

Posted on June 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a start. At least, I hope it’s a start. A surge in temporary federal Census Bureau jobs coupled with new leisure and hospitality positions helped local employers create 20,200 new jobs during May. The data, released Friday by the … Continue reading →

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Rhetoric is the easy part

Posted on June 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

There are two things that I wonder about as I read this story about poverty and the Texas schools and the alarming trends we’re seeing in things like the dropout rate. First and foremost, will anyone ever listen to former … Continue reading →

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What Becky Moeller says

Posted on June 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I like this statement by Texas AFL-CIO President Becky Moeller so much, I’m printing it in full: Texas AFL-CIO President Becky Moeller issued this statement at a news conference held near the site of the Republican State Convention in Dallas: … Continue reading →

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We can’t just cut our way out of the budget deficit, take 2

Posted on June 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Some cuts cost a lot more than they purport to save. Public colleges and universities in Texas are absorbing a 5 percent cut in state funding by laying off employees, deferring repairs, scaling back travel and finding other savings. But … Continue reading →

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Perry scoffs at budget shortfall number

Posted on June 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

What color is the sky on Rick Perry’s planet? Gov. Rick Perry says that where some see an $18 billion budget gap ahead for Texas, he sees a figure plucked from the sky. “I think it’s a number that somebody … Continue reading →

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Why we can’t just cut our way out of the budget deficit

Posted on June 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

For one thing, there’s very little fat, and not much discretionary spending in the biggest budget items like health and human services. Of the $23 billion in state dollars appropriated in the current budget for health and human services programs, … Continue reading →

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